Glossary of Japanese succession terms
The vocabulary you'll encounter in documents, meetings, and platform listings — with kanji, romaji, and plain-English working definitions.
- BATONZ バトンズ · batonzu
- Japan's largest online small-M&A marketplace, launched from the Nihon M&A Center group. Useful for market education and micro-deal sourcing; Japanese-language operation. Related guide →
- Business Manager visa 経営・管理 · keiei kanri
- The status of residence for foreigners who own and actively manage a business in Japan. Requirements were substantially tightened in 2025 — verify current rules before structuring. Related guide →
- Chusho kigyo 中小企業 · chūshō kigyō
- Small and medium enterprises. Over 99% of Japanese companies, employing about 70% of the private workforce — and the population where the succession gap is concentrated.
- Chusho M&A Guidelines 中小M&Aガイドライン · chūshō M&A gaidorain
- The SME Agency's guidelines for small-company M&A conduct: fee disclosure, conflict handling, and seller protection. A useful map of known market abuses.
- Daihyo torishimariyaku 代表取締役 · daihyō torishimariyaku
- Representative director — the legally registered officer who binds the company. Banks strongly prefer a Japan-resident representative; plan this in your post-close structure.
- Daisansha shokei 第三者承継 · daisansha shōkei
- Third-party succession — transferring the business to someone outside the family and workforce, i.e. a sale. The category foreign buyers participate in.
- Eigyoken 営業権 · eigyōken
- Goodwill — in small-deal pricing convention, typically two to five years of normalized operating profit added on top of restated net assets. Related guide →
- FEFTA 外為法 · gaitamehō
- The Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act — Japan's foreign investment screening law. Requires prior notification for acquisitions in designated sensitive sectors, post-facto reporting otherwise. Related guide →
- Godo kaisha (GK) 合同会社 · gōdō kaisha
- A simpler LLC-style company form, cheaper to run than a KK. Often used by buyers as an acquisition or holding vehicle.
- Haigyo 廃業 · haigyō
- Voluntary business closure — the default fate of successor-less companies, tens of thousands per year, a meaningful share profitable at closure. The alternative every succession deal competes against.
- Hikitsugi 引継ぎ · hikitsugi
- Handover — the transition of duties, relationships, and knowledge from seller to buyer. Succession deals conventionally include a 6–12 month hikitsugi period.
- Jigyo joto 事業譲渡 · jigyō jōto
- Business transfer — an asset-deal structure where selected assets, contracts, and staff move to the buyer's entity. Cleaner risk, but every contract and employee must individually consent. Related guide →
- Jigyo shokei 事業承継 · jigyō shōkei
- Business succession — the formal term for transferring ownership and management of a company, whether to family, employees, or a third party. The policy field and market this site covers. Related guide →
- Jigyo shokei zeisei 事業承継税制 · jigyō shōkei zeisei
- The business succession tax scheme — deferral (and potential exemption) of inheritance and gift taxes on transferred shares, mainly relevant to family successions.
- Jika junshisan 時価純資産 · jika junshisan
- Market-value (restated) net assets — the balance-sheet component of the standard small-deal pricing convention: restated net assets plus goodwill. Related guide →
- Jizen todokede 事前届出 · jizen todokede
- Prior notification under FEFTA — filed through the Bank of Japan before closing when the target operates in a designated sector, with a statutory waiting period. Related guide →
- Kabushiki joto 株式譲渡 · kabushiki jōto
- Share transfer — the most common structure for small succession deals. The company continues unchanged; the buyer takes it whole, including liabilities. Related guide →
- Kabushiki kaisha (KK) 株式会社 · kabushiki kaisha
- The standard Japanese joint-stock company. Most acquisition targets are KKs; buying one means buying its shares, history, and obligations.
- Keieisha hosho 経営者保証 · keieisha hoshō
- The owner's personal guarantee on company debt — near-universal in SME lending. Releasing the seller's guarantee (and negotiating what replaces it) is a standard closing issue.
- Keisho 継承 · keishō
- Succession or inheritance in the broad sense — the passing on of a business, craft, or role. The root concept behind this site's name.
- Kentō shimasu 検討します · kentō shimasu
- "We will consider it" — the standard indirect response. Sometimes literal; often a soft no. Reading which one takes context or a local advisor.
- Kihon goisho 基本合意書 · kihon gōisho
- Basic agreement — the Japanese equivalent of a letter of intent, recording agreed deal outline before due diligence. Usually shorter and less adversarial than US LOIs.
- Kojin hosho kaijo 個人保証解除 · kojin hoshō kaijo
- Release of the personal guarantee — what most sellers urgently want at closing, negotiated with the incumbent bank alongside the transfer.
- Kokeisha 後継者 · kōkeisha
- Successor. "Kōkeisha fuzai" (後継者不在) — successor absence — is the market's defining statistic, historically affecting roughly half or more of surveyed SMEs.
- M&A shien kikan M&A支援機関 · M&A shien kikan
- Registered M&A support institutions under the SME Agency's registration system — a public directory and minimum quality screen for intermediaries and advisors. Related guide →
- Nemawashi 根回し · nemawashi
- Literally "root work" — the private consensus-building that precedes Japanese decisions. Explains the silence between meetings: alignment is being built around the owner. Related guide →
- Nihon Seisaku Kinyu Koko (JFC) 日本政策金融公庫 · nihon seisaku kin'yū kōko
- Japan Finance Corporation — the government-affiliated lender with dedicated succession loan programs, often more accessible to new and foreign-resident owners than commercial banks.
- Shacho 社長 · shachō
- Company president — the title, the person, and in most SMEs the institution. Understanding what the shachō personally holds (relationships, craft, licenses) is core diligence.
- Shiho shoshi 司法書士 · shihō shoshi
- Judicial scrivener — the legal professional who handles company registrations and share-transfer filings. Cheaper than a lawyer for routine transfer mechanics.
- Shinkin bank 信用金庫 · shin'yō kinko
- Credit association — a cooperative regional lender serving local SMEs. Alongside regional banks, a key holder of succession information and financing.
- Succession Support Center 事業承継・引継ぎ支援センター · jigyō shōkei hikitsugi shien sentā
- Government Business Succession & Handover Support Centers, operating in every prefecture — free advice and successor matching for SME owners. Related guide →
- TRANBI トランビ · toranbi
- Pioneer consumer-accessible small-M&A platform with low entry pricing, skewing to micro-deals and individual buyers. Related guide →
- Zeirishi 税理士 · zeirishi
- Licensed tax accountant. Nearly every SME retains one for decades; the zeirishi is typically the owner's most trusted advisor and a critical gatekeeper for succession deals. Related guide →
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